Opera House

Alexander Dreyfoos has thrown down the gauntlet to Palm Beach Opera: If you're serious about growth, build an opera house at the Kravis Center. Dreyfoos, chairman of the Kravis board, said there's room for another performance space at the southwest corner of the complex. If only the opera will pay for it. Philanthropist and lawyer Bob Montgomery resigned Sunday as chairman of the opera company's board, in part because of an ongoing disagreement with the Kravis Center over more rehearsal and performance time for the opera.

The sudden crash of an ornate chandelier is not an unfamiliar event at the opera house in American Heritage High School's production of "The Phantom of the Opera. " With creepy occurrences like this, one can only imagine the story behind it all. "Phantom of the Opera" originally a book entitled Le Fantôme de l'Opéra written by French author Gaston Leroux, which was then later created into a Broadway musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is the famous tale about an opera house that is haunted by the Phantom, a mysterious man whom everybody fears.

With Phantom of the Opera, the question hangs in the air like dust off an ol' busted-up chandelier: Is this production - imbued with longest-running-Broadway-show-in-history success - as fresh and vibrant as you remember it? Or does the pop-opera at Broward Center for the Performing Arts lean toward rococo rehash, leaving parents who caught a production during the last 20 years (hoping to get a vicarious thrill through initiating their children) deflated and melancholy? The answer is somewhere in the middle.

By Skyler Evans of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, November 21, 2011

"Lot 666 a chandelier in pieces. " An enormous chandelier is lit and rises from ruin. Thus begins American Heritage Center for the Arts' production of "The Phantom of the Opera. " Originally a French novel, written in 1901, "The Phantom of the Opera" has since been transformed into four adapted musicals and a countless number of films. The most famous adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber is the most financially successful musical to ever hit Broadway, and is the longest running Broadway musical.

Phantom. Through July 25 at the Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Road, 746-5566. Watching Phantom evokes a multitude of feelings. The characters are heartwarming and believable. The voices are like dark chocolate: smooth and sweet. Set designs perform their duty to perfection. The musical begins with the habitual philanderer Count Philippe de Chandon (Dale Conrad Brown) discovering the beautiful, yet untrained voice of the heroine Christine Dae (portrayed with infinite charm and grace by Kim Lindsay)

miami Miami-Dade County's grand vision for a cultural center that would put many of its performing arts groups under one roof and continue the revitalization of Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami is closer to reality. On Friday, a six-member selection committee led by Stanley Arkin, head of the Performing Art Center Trust's construction committee, narrowed the list of possible construction managers to four firms. The committee picked Turner Construction Co., Clark Construction, Morse Diesel International and Performing Arts Center Builders.

Mike Dillon, oddsmaker for Ladbrokes, the world's largest bookmaker, said Friday he thought Europeans would fare better in today's Breeders' Cup than they did last year at Gulfstream Park. Europeans could only muster two third-place finishes in Hallandale. "I don't think the climate will get to the Europeans like it did in Florida, where the challenge melted away," Dillon said. "I think that particularly in the turf races, the Europeans will give a good account of themselves." Dillon said he thought Mile favorite Lure would be hurt by drawing the No. 12 post.

What's old is new again at the Performing Arts Center of Greater Miami, whose final design was unveiled Wednesday at a luncheon for donors, county officials and the major arts groups that will perform in it. The centerpiece of the $244 million project is the $168 million three-theater complex that will straddle downtown Miami's Biscayne Boulevard by the year 2002. Architect Cesar Pelli's design, inspired by Egypt's pyramids and other monuments along the Nile, will rise as much as 120 feet above a central plaza in sculpted terraces of Mexican limestone, using lattices of stainless steel and glass for its grace notes.

A proposal by the city of Miami Beach to build South Florida`s largest and most expensive arts complex appears to have tipped the balance of power away from efforts to build the center in downtown Miami, Dade County officials say. City officials spelled out their plans for a $153 million, twin-theater cultural center on Monday at a meeting of Dade`s Performing Arts Center Trust. The 32-member panel was formed recently by the county to complete a decadelong quest for an arts center. Lately, the group has been studying at least three plans for downtown Miami, two of which are by area developers.

The Palm Beach Opera's apparent ploy to improve its stake in West Palm Beach's CityPlace downtown plan may have worked after all. Two days after buying property scheduled for a county convention center and threatening to argue in court that a $25 million opera house had more public interest, the opera is talking compromise with CityPlace developer Ken Himmel. In a meeting late on Thursday, Himmel told opera Chairman Bob Montgomery that he is more amenable now to putting the planned opera center where opera officials originally wanted it: on Okeechobee Boulevard west of the railroad tracks, on a tract with more room for parking than a site he had offered a block east.

Friday evening, grand ball gowns and majestic colors adorned the stage of the American Heritage school auditorium in their exquisite production of "The Phantom of the Opera. " Adapted into several different mediums, "The Phantom of the Opera" was originally a novel printed in 1910. Over time, the plot has been adopted in several films and musicals. The 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical follows the story of chorus girl Christine Daae, who quickly rises to starring roles thanks to a mysterious tutor.

Lights flash as an organ shrieks out a spine-chilling melody. An enormous, ornate chandelier rises to the rafters and dangles ominously, preparing to oversee American Heritage School's mesmerizing production of "The Phantom of the Opera. " "The Phantom of the Opera" made its literary debut in 1910 as a serialized novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. Although the book failed to garner critical acclaim, Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1988 musical adaptation of the text received seven Tony Awards and currently holds the title of longest-running production in Broadway history.

With soaring music, exciting swordplay and elaborate sets that bring 17th-century France to vibrant life, Florida Grand Opera's production of David DiChiera's "Cyrano" is a contemporary opera for people whose tastes usually run to Verdi and Puccini. The opera, which opened Saturday night at the Arsht Center in Miami, tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, celebrated soldier, scientist and poet, who believes his enormous nose prevents him from ever achieving romantic love. DiChiera's music is melodic and passionate, a fresh, energetic modern expression of rich 19th-century harmonies, with a couple of melodies that will stay with you as you leave the opera house.

With Phantom of the Opera, the question hangs in the air like dust off an ol' busted-up chandelier: Is this production - imbued with longest-running-Broadway-show-in-history success - as fresh and vibrant as you remember it? Or does the pop-opera at Broward Center for the Performing Arts lean toward rococo rehash, leaving parents who caught a production during the last 20 years (hoping to get a vicarious thrill through initiating their children) deflated and melancholy? The answer is somewhere in the middle.

Posted by Rod Hagwood on December 28, 2009 10:42 AM, December 28, 2009

With Phantom of the Opera, the question hanging in the air like dust off an ol' busted-up chandelier is whether this production -- imbued with longest-running-Broadway-show-in-history success -- is fresh and vibrant like you remember it? Or does the pop-opera currently at Broward Center for the Performing Arts lean toward rococo rehash, leaving parents who caught a production over the last 20 years (and hoped to get a vicarious thrill through initiating their children) deflated and melancholy?

Mozart has survived grandiose conductors and abstract interpretations, but the librettos for his operas never cast Islamic radicals threatening a skittish theater company. On a day of messy drama and furious debate over free speech, German Opera in Berlin reaffirmed its decision Tuesday not to revive a production of Mozart's Idomeneo for fear of inciting Islamic extremists over a scene showing the severed head of the prophet Muhammad. The cancellation of a work that has run intermittently since 2003 drew rebuke from politicians and theater critics, who regarded it as a defeat for creative expression and a victory for militant Islamists over liberal European tradition.

NEW YORK -- There are some people for whom Shakespeare`s "All the world`s a stage" is a commentary on the pageant of life. Then there is Alexander Nixon, who takes the sentiment quite literally. A private opera house was what he had in mind for his apartment. "I`ve spent a lot of time at the opera and the ballet," Nixon said. "Out of that came the red and gold disease." The symptoms include a predilection for swooping curtains, gold braid and fanciful painted effects. "The rooms are follies that transport you into a different time," he said.

Mozart has survived grandiose conductors and abstract interpretations, but the librettos for his operas never cast Islamic radicals threatening a skittish theater company. On a day of messy drama and furious debate over free speech, German Opera in Berlin reaffirmed its decision Tuesday not to revive a production of Mozart's Idomeneo for fear of inciting Islamic extremists over a scene showing the severed head of the prophet Muhammad. The cancellation of a work that has run intermittently since 2003 drew rebuke from politicians and theater critics, who regarded it as a defeat for creative expression and a victory for militant Islamists over liberal European tradition.

Coming tomorrow Knowledge, nerves put to the test High school students will pour into testing centers Saturday to take the SAT, the pressure-packed benchmark exam considered vital for admission to the best colleges. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel invited students to talk about the SAT a few days before the October exam. Business FPL stock losing luster For a long time, owners of FPL shares were reaping strong gains. But in the last couple of months, with Hurricane Wilma and questions about the regulatory environment, the stock has been sinking.

Alexander Dreyfoos has thrown down the gauntlet to Palm Beach Opera: If you're serious about growth, build an opera house at the Kravis Center. Dreyfoos, chairman of the Kravis board, said there's room for another performance space at the southwest corner of the complex. If only the opera will pay for it. Philanthropist and lawyer Bob Montgomery resigned Sunday as chairman of the opera company's board, in part because of an ongoing disagreement with the Kravis Center over more rehearsal and performance time for the opera.